Target’s Brightspot mobile service launches Sunday, starts at $35 per month

Target announces Brightspot, a prepaid mobile service for arrival on October 6th

Ever tenacious retailer Target is once again nipping at Walmart's heels. Following the introduction of its Target Ticket video-on-demand service -- a direct competitor to Vudu -- the big box chain is now looking to get into the prepaid phone business with a service known as Brightspot. The MVNO is set to launch on October 6th, which will use T-Mobile's network and serve as Target's answer to Straight Talk. Brightspot will offer two service tiers, one for $35 that includes unlimited talk and text, in addition to a $50 plan that piles on unlimited data with 1GB of high-speed use. While Target's offering is a bit less tempting than Walmart's (which offers 2.5GB of high-speed usage for $45), the bullseye retailer will reward loyal subscribers with a $25 Target gift card for each six months of paid Brightspot service. Consider it one more excuse to kick your costly monthly phone plan to the curb.

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Via: All Things D

Source: Target

AT&T’s prepaid subsidiary, Aio Wireless, is now available nationwide

You can go ahead and consider Aio Wireless an option the next time you're shopping among mobile carriers, because the prepaid subsidiary of AT&T is now available nationwide. Service plans at Aio feature unlimited voice, messaging and overage-free data, and start at $40 per month for simple phones. Smartphone users can expect to pay at least $55 at Aio, which fetches 2GB of high-speed data, whereas the $70 plan comes with a healthy 7GB allotment. As one potential gotcha, the carrier throttles its high-speed data to a relatively paltry 8 Mbps -- a shame if you're sporting an LTE handset. If you're on a budget, it's worth mentioning that Aio Wireless is one of the sole providers of the Lumia 620 within the US, and at just $100 outright, it's a very tempting proposition.

[Thanks, Krishan]

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Source: Aio Wireless

Kogan Mobile to wind down after wholesale provider ispONE goes bust

Telstra wholesaler ispONE enters administration, leaves Kogan Mobile in limbo

Virtual carriers are only as healthy as the companies that provide their services -- and Australia's Kogan Mobile is learning this the hard way. Its wholesale cellular partner ispONE has just entered administration following a contract dispute with Telstra, ending all its deals for prepaid 3G services and leaving Kogan Mobile no choice but to wind down. Customers have already lost the ability to add or replenish services; they'll have up to 60 days after a Telstra notice to use any credit they have left, and 180 days to port their numbers elsewhere. While Kogan's shutdown may only affect about 100,000 people, it still represents an unfortunate loss of competition in a country with few major providers.

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Via: iTnews.com.au

Source: Kogan Mobile, Telstra Wholesale

Nokia Lumia 625 reaches the UK on August 28th with LTE on three networks

Nokia Lumia 625 arrives in the UK on August 28th

Brits who've wanted Nokia's budget phone ambitions writ large -- namely, the Lumia 625 -- won't have to wait much longer. The 4.7-inch Windows Phone will be available on August 28th through EE, O2, Vodafone, Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U. If you're interested, you can pick up the device for free on a £21 per month contract, or buy it outright for £179 on pay-as-you-go service; early adopters get a second colored back as a bonus. EE, O2 and Vodafone should all support the Lumia 625's LTE either immediately or the day after, so it's just a matter of choosing the 4G network you prefer.

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Source: Nokia

Ultra Mobile brings 1,000 international minutes to all plans with Ultra Zero

DNP Ultra Mobile brings 1,000 international voice minutes to all its service plans

Phoning abroad just got cheaper thanks to Ultra Mobile pushing free international calling to all of its service plans. With Ultra Zero, even if you're only paying $19 per month, you get 1,000 gratis minutes to call Canada, China, Mexico, Singapore and the UK. If you manage to use that up, it's one cent for each minute thereafter. In addition to that huge chunk of voice time and being contract-free, all of the carrier's plans include at least 50MB of 4G data and unlimited global texting. The company also cut its rates for calling Cuba, Haiti, India, Nepal, Nigeria and Poland by as much as half -- you know people in those countries, right? As long as you're rocking an unlocked GSM phone and slip in an Ultra Mobile SIM card, you should be able to reach out and touch someone for a whole lot less.

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Source: Ultra Mobile

Vodafone UK brings unlimited talk, text and data to Red Freedom Freebee plans

Vodafone UK adds unlimited talk, text and data to Red Freedom Freebee plans

These days, carriers seem to be gravitating towards "less for more" -- as in, giving users less while charging more. For those situated in the UK, however, Vodafone's offering up a new pay-as-you-go arrangement that actually smacks of value. The Red Freedom Freebee plans are pretty simple. For instance, £30 a month nets you unlimited texts and talk within the United Kingdom coupled with 1GB of data. Cough up £40 each month, and that data cap doubles to 2GB. A couple of cheaper plans are available for those who need little more than text messaging and enough data to keep tabs on their email, all of which can be seen in detail at Vodafone's site.

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Via: Tech Digest

Source: Vodafone

Mobile by Sainsbury’s launches in the UK with Nectar-earning prepaid plans

Mobile by Sainsbury's launches in the UK with Nectarearning PAYG and Bundle plans

Mobile by Sainsbury's, a mobile virtual network operator affiliated with one of the United Kingdom's largest supermarket chains, is officially open for business. The MVNO, which operates on Vodafone's network, will be accessible to customers at all Sainsbury's outlets. Offerings include a pay-as-you-go Basic plan, with domestic calls priced at 8 pence per minute, data at 50 pence per day for 25MB, UK texts at 4 pence each and double Nectar points on top ups. From there, a trio of Bundle plans give you monthly access for £10, £20 or £30, with 200 minutes and 250MB, 300 minutes and 500MB and 800 minutes and 1GB, respectively. All Bundle plans include unlimited texts and double Nectar points. Head over to the source link or hit up your neighborhood Sainsbury's to join up.

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Via: Pocket-lint

Source: Mobile by Sainsbury's

Nokia Lumia 520 comes to AT&T GoPhone on July 26th for $100 off-contract

Nokia Lumia 520 comes to AT&T GoPhone on July 26th

Want a cheap gateway to the world of Windows Phone? In the US, it won't get much cheaper than AT&T's new version of the Lumia 520. Nokia's starter device will cost just $100 contract-free when it hits AT&T's GoPhone prepaid service on July 26th -- that's $50 less than T-Mobile's already inexpensive Lumia 521. There won't be LTE support or other frills, but we suspect that many customers won't mind at this price.

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Source: AT&T

LG Optimus F3 comes to Virgin Mobile with LTE, $180 price tag

LG Optimus F3 comes to Virgin Mobile

The LG Optimus F3 doesn't make much sense on Sprint, where a preference for contract pricing leaves the F3 competing with more advanced devices. It's a good thing that the 4-inch Android phone has launched on Sprint's contract-free Virgin Mobile brand, then. The smaller carrier's version offers everything we've seen before, including LTE, but costs just $180 up front -- a big discount over both the $250 Sprint variant and most 4G phones at Virgin. Combined with cheaper plans, Virgin's Optimus F3 should be a much better deal for those who want LTE on the cheap.

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Source: Virgin Mobile